Celebrity Poker: LeAnn Rimes

Singer and celebrity poker player LeAnn Rimes and boyfriend Eddie Cibrian joined other Hollywood celebrities at the 8th Annual World Poker Tour Invitational at Commerce Casino. The couple, along with the other stars, raised over $100,000 for charity and despite the tense and competitive atmosphere, they could be seen sharing laughs and engaging in some light PDA amid round after round of Texas Hold ‘em.

Meanwhile, it’s not all fun times for LeAnn Rimes. The 27-year-old country music star recently announced plans to release two new studio albums this year. The first, which will be an album featuring all cover songs by male artists, is due out in June. The second, which will feature original material, is due out later this year.

About LeAnn Rimes: With her hit single "How Do I Live" from the Con Air soundtrack and her 2007 track "Nothin' Better To Do," LeAnn Rimes rocks the country charts and never ceases to blow the industry away, all at such a young age. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, LeAnn Rimes won her first talent contest at age five and at seven she had recorded her first album. By then her family had relocated to Garland, Texas. She began honing her skills as a country artist performing on Johnnie High’s Country Music Revue in Ft. Worth, a popular show that featured local artists and national acts.

 

LeAnn Rimes recorded her second album at the tender age of 11. That project featured “Blue,” and caught the attention of legendary executive Mike Curb who signed her to Curb Records. By 13, she had a national hit. At the age of 6, she moved to Garland, Texas, where she was raised. Things really picked up for LeAnn Rimes in Dallas; she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Dallas Cowboys games and at the National Cutting Horse Championships in Fort Worth. 

 

LeAnn Rimes has always looked and acted much older than her age as she sings adult-oriented songs, which is partly due to her extraordinarily rich voice. She made an excellent revival of the classic "Unchained Melody" on her album Unchained Melody: The Early Years. 

 

In 1998, LeAnn Rimes put out yet another album, Sittin' On Top Of The World and, a year later, a compilation album with remakes of hits originally sung by Patsy Cline and Janis Joplin. In 2001 marked the release of I Need You, which contained the track "Can't Fight The Moonlight," a song that was featured in the movie Coyote Ugly. 

 

In 2003, LeAnn Rimes released a greatest hits album simply titled Greatest Hits, which went platinum in 2007. But then, LeAnn took a short break from stardom. It wasn't until 2005 that LeAnn Rimes made a comeback to country music with the album This Woman. It was her best-selling album in five years. A year later LeAnn Rimes decided to try dabbling in another musical genre and put out a pop album, Whatever We Wanna, however, due to the success of This Woman, the pop album was only released in Europe.

 

LeAnn Rime has won two Grammy Awards, including the first Best New Artist accolade ever won by a country artist. She has sold more than 37 million records, won an American Music Award, three Academy of Country Music honors and 12 Billboard Awards. She’s scored numerous hit singles, among them “One Way Ticket,” “I Need You,” “Nothin’ ‘Bout Love Makes Sense,” “Probably Wouldn’t Be This Way,” “Can’t Fight The Moonlight” which was a #1 song in 11 countries, and “How Do I Live,” which was the longest running single ever on the Billboard Hot 100, spending a record-setting 69 weeks on the chart.

She has written children books, acted in film and on television and has become a musical icon both in the U.S. and in Europe. In 2006, she released “Whatever We Wanna” in Europe, a successful pop album for which LeAnn Rimes co-wrote 10 of the 15 tracks. LeAnn has become confident enough as a songwriter to pitch tunes to other artists and has songs being considered by Faith Hill and Jamie O’Neal.

LeAnn Rimes has learned from the moments that have defined her young life, and she’s poured those experiences into her music. She’s no longer the teen with the big voice. She’s an intelligent, mature young woman with much to say.